How Hardened Steel Strip Is Used in Industry

When a strip of steel undergoes heat treatment, it becomes harder. This hardened metal is ideal for products like shovels, nozzles, surgical equipment and fine cutlery that encounter sliding abrasions on a regular basis.

When tempered, the hardened strip has superior tensile strength and spring properties. It also has precision blanking ability that rationalizes further processing.

1. Automotive Excellence

Automotive excellence is a hallmark of high-end brands like Ferrari and Lamborghini. Their engine technologies and aerodynamic designs are built for speed and precision, giving discerning drivers an adrenaline pumping experience on the open road or racetrack.

These automotive masterpieces are the product of expert craftsmanship, from the skillful construction of their chassis to the durability of their tires. One of the key materials that supports these vehicles is hardened steel strip. Every time you fasten a seat belt or change the gears, you’re using this strong and resilient material.

Hardened steel strip is a raw material for many different components, especially those requiring tensile strength and hardness. Whether it’s an automobile clutch, washer, or traditional clock springs, the hardened steel that makes these parts operates at significantly higher levels of strength than mild steel grades. This high tensile strength also contributes to the durability of the finished components, helping them perform longer and better than their non-hardened counterparts.

2. Tool Time

When a metal can withstand two times as much pressure than untreated steel without showing tiny cracks, it’s ideal for equipment like knife blades that experience a lot of force on a regular basis. This strength makes hardened steel strip an essential component of tools, from garden shears to surgical items like scalpels.

A key feature of this kind of steel is its ductility, which allows it to bend and spring back into shape after undergoing intense heat treatment. This enables the blades to bend around tight hardened steel strip radii and still hold their strength. It also ensures that the material can be used safely with human skin and other coverings like fabric.

One of the ways this ductility is achieved is by tempering. This process involves reheating the strip to a lower temperature, reducing some of the stress and bringing back a small amount of elasticity. It’s like striking an ideal balance between brick-hard strength and a malleable center.

Waelzholz’s process for tempering is unique in the industry and results in a tempered strip that can be bent by more than 90 degrees while maintaining its strength. This flexibility is especially important for cutting and stamping tools, which require the backs of the blades to be formed in very tight radii. Conventional, hardened steel would break during this forming process, but Waelzholz’s bainitically tempered strip is flexible enough to meet these requirements.

3. Smart Strength

In the electric drive of hybrid and electric vehicles, a special grade of hardened steel strip takes center stage. Designed to Tinplate steel coils supplier increase torque in the electric motor, it helps boost efficiency and lower costs.

To achieve this, ThyssenKrupp’s electrical steel specialists worked to create new grades that guarantee a high level of magnetic strength at very low temperatures. This results in a significant reduction in magnet leakage, and allows for a smaller and lighter motor, with a higher level of performance and reliability.

Smartness also applies to the way hardened steel strip is processed. The material is carefully cooled to a temperature below the melting point, and then reheated again, or tempered. This process, which you can think of as a steel massage, strikes an ideal balance between brick-hard strength and a bit of elasticity.

The resulting product is used for a wide range of applications, including Automobile Clutches, Clock Springs, Masonry and Agricultural Tools, Gang Saws Blades, Leather Splitting Knives and many more. This range is available in a variety of thicknesses and widths, and can be supplied with different surface finishes to suit the application. This includes a normal blue-black oxidized finish, but satin and bright finishes can be applied if required. This is particularly important where end products come into contact with the sheared edge, or for handling safety reasons.

4. Sustainable Innovation

Hardened steel strip is a critical component in many industrial applications, and it’s a product that can be made to last. This means that it’s important to make sure that this material is sourced from responsible and ethical sources. This helps to ensure that the materials are being processed in a way that is not harming the environment and the workers who are making it.

This type of innovation can include implementing new practices such as life cycle assessments, reducing waste, and promoting recycling, as well as designing products for longevity and resource efficiency. This type of innovation often involves collaborating with stakeholders in different industries to create solutions that benefit everyone.

It’s possible to produce high-quality steel strip without harming the environment, and this is achieved through careful manufacturing processes. This includes ensuring that the statutory quality standards are met every time. It is also crucial to conduct thorough testing, both during the production process and afterward, to ensure that the product is of the highest standard.

From clock springs to automobile clutches, hardened steel is a substance essential to our modern lives. This is due to its ability to work away out of sight, providing strength and dependability for machinery, buildings, and infrastructure – places that cannot do without it. Despite its brick-hard exterior, the steel in this strip remains surprisingly elastic. This is thanks to tempering – a sort of metallurgical massage that reduces some of the brittleness, delivering an ideal balance between hardness and malleability.